Approximately a year ago I had a bittersweet yet inspiring evening attending the 2019 Emersons Green Running Club AGM.  Bitter, because I had to hand back my Time Trial trophy, realistically the only club championship I will ever win unless I keep running until I'm 100! Sweet because I was handing my trophy to my good friend Lucy as she had deservedly won it.

I was inspired by two things. Firstly, the club had chosen a charity to support for 2019, Cardiac Risk in the young (CRY). Their representatives gave a talk about the valuable services they provide both to bereaved families who have sadly lost a young person due to a heart condition and also the fantastic work they do to screen young people for undiagnosed heart defects. Secondly, at the end of the evening, our chairman, Neil Newman suggested that if we are thinking about running for a charity, we might like to consider CRY. (I'm paraphrasing slightly, it was a year ago!)

So, to cut a long story short, I decided that I wanted to raise money for them. Those who know me may have noticed that I love entering big races and have a slight tendency to get carried away and suddenly find myself entering far too many races at once! Having done this I thought it would be good to make these races count in some way. Anyway, now I had an excuse for entering lots of races, I grasped the opportunity with both hands and decided to set myself a double  challenge, to run six half marathons whilst raising as much as possible for Cardiac Risk in the Young.

The first of these six was the Admiral City of Newport Half Marathon, which was rather wet but I really enjoyed it. I loved the feel that it was essentially in three parts, firstly around the town centre. Next on to the Roman Ruins and picturesque village of Caerleon with the third section next to and across the river. The support was great and I would definitely like to do it again. Nice medal and tshirt too.

The following weekend I was off to London with my lovely friends and husband to take part in The Vitality Big Half, pretty windy! I was actually nearly blown off my feet in Canary Wharf but it improved for the second half 😍. Again, amazing support, we saw Mo Farrah and ran across Tower bridge, finishing at the iconic Cutty Sark.

Half number three was the Bath Half Marathon. Loved it and definitely want to run it again, the support around the course was magnificent. There I was lucky enough to meet an amazing brave lady who lost her son unexpectedly to a heart condition when he was 26. His picture was on the back of her running vest and it was an unbelievably emotional moment to actually meet a real person affected by the condition and helped by my charity. What a

motivator, not that I needed one!

With the first half of my journey completed, I turned my attention to fundraising in earnest. I was already posting regular updates onto my Facebook page and sharing them to the various groups I attend or help out but that wasn't going to raise enough money. The first event I organised was a bingo night in June. Sadly, despite my best efforts I had to cancel it due to lack of support. So it was back to the drawing board. I decided to go back to what had worked previously and organise a quiz night later in the year.  

My running buddy Lynsey and I had a discussion and decided that we needed to draw a bit more attention to ourselves in the next half of the races by dressing up and so the unicorns were born. We decided that as we probably weren't going to win the Great North Run in September, we would go for it and dress as flamboyantly as possible. I found a huge pair of

inflatable rainbow wings on line, Lesley found some fetching sequinned play suits and we were on our way!  The Great North Run is an amazing huge event with around 50,000 runners taking part. It was our second time of taking part and we were looking forward to the weekend so much. We were not disappointed. It was a beautiful day and the atmosphere in Newcastle was electric. Because our costumes were slightly wide, we decided to join the party and run with our friend Joan in the pink pen at the back.  The race was the best one I have ever ran, and I've done the London Marathon! The costumes went down a storm and people were calling out to us and asking for high fives and pictures for the whole 13 miles. I've never seen so much support! We were even on the front page of the local newspaper a few days later.

Back down to earth, I concentrated on my big push to raise funds for CRY with a lucky number draw and a quiz night which was better supported and meant that I would be going into my final two half marathons within touching distance of the target of £500 I had set myself.

The first of these was the Cardiff Half Marathon. This is always a great occasion and I love the atmosphere and the scenery, especially running over the barrage in Cardiff bay. Again the support is brilliant and I would love to take part again in the future. So, finally, after eight months of running, training which definitely did not go to plan and

some fantastic experiences, I came to my final half marathon. This was an important one for me because CRY had given me a charity place as opposed to the other races where I had entered myself. I was so excited to be finally meeting the staff from the charity I had been corresponding with for months.  The week leading up to the race, the Royal Parks half marathon, was a little worrying.  Extinction Rebellion protesters were occupying parts of the route and I wasn't sure if we would even make it to the start line.  I needn't have worried. The route was completely clear for us to run. The protesters were in Trafalgar Square and they met us with a wall of sound and support. It was really so uplifting

and magical moment.  If you ever get the chance to run the Royal Parks Half marathon definitely go for it. You see

quite a few of London's landmarks and run up and down the Mall. As you enter Hyde Park, you are met by an overwhelming level of cheering, drumming and other support. It was great.  Finally, I crossed the finish line and sobbed my heart out. it suddenly hit me that my challenge was at an end and I had done it! All that remained was for me to go and meet my charity and celebrate.

I have held a quiz night, great fun, ran a lucky number draw and been supported and sponsored by my family and so many other generous people.  Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without Lynsey Miles. She has

supported me, come up with many madcap ideas to get us noticed, listened to me, dried my tears and been by my side every step of the way, running 4 out of the 6 half marathons with me. Best running buddy ever, thanks Lyns.

I have had an amazing few months and I've raised just over £500 for Cardiac Risk In The Young - CRY, if I can do it, so can you!